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• Nearly half (47%) of those surveyed said they are putting less money into savings and the same percentage report that current economic conditions have caused them to dip into their savings to cover day-to-day expenses.

• While a third of those surveyed said they save regularly every month, only 12% report that they are saving the recommended 10-15% of their income for the future, and another 12% said they are not saving anything at all.

• The majority of Americans (59%) consider themselves to be highly knowledgeable or very knowledgeable when it comes to personal finance, down from 64% in 2007.

(On those last points, I can't help but recall the Lake Wobegon effect, which describes our collective tendency to think that we are all above average.)

The best weapon in the fight against financial illiteracy: education. Consider the results of a 2008 study by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Charles Schwab Foundation of teens participating in the financial education program Money Matters:

• Teens who reported learning a great deal about goal-setting were significantly more likely to also report that they had saved money for something they wanted and then purchased it (79%), compared to those who reported they learned little or nothing about goal-setting (58%).

• Teens who reported learning about managing savings and checking accounts were more likely to report having opened both types of accounts (57% vs. 44% opened a savings account; 36% vs. 28% opened checking accounts).

• Those who reported learning about saving money were more likely to save regularly (72% vs. 57%).

• Teens who learned to track spending were more likely to report having developed a budget (50%) vs. those who learned little or nothing (29%) and also more likely to save money to purchase something (80% vs. 60%).

With that, I have but one message to school principals, headmasters, chancellors, parents, members of Congress, the national business press and anyone charged with nurturing the next generation of consumers, investors and voters: